Seven Pillars of Wisdom rock formation in Wadi Rum, Jordanby Tomobe03 [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons Some books, when you come to the end of them, leave you gaping inwardly.  Dejected and confused, you feel like you missed something critical, after “getting” everything that came before.   Seven Pillars of Wisdom ends just […]

Sherif Nasir The Arab Revolt as led by Lawrence was not a solely independent effort.  Money and reinforcements came from Britain, and in return the Arab tribesmen and leadership collaborated with General Allenby against the common enemy.  The Dead Sea Campaign came after Allenby had taken Jerusalem, and would benefit both Arab and British objectives:  […]

Previously: Introduction, Book I, Book II, Book III, Book IV After the capture of Akaba, the Arab Revolt was again able to re-focus on its core strategy: destroying the Turkish railway in Hejaz.  This followed Lawrence’s philosophy of undermining Turkish resources instead of targeting their forces directly, following the priority of utilizing the Arab advantage […]

Previously: Introduction, Book I, Book II, Book III La forteresse d’Aqaba by Jean Housen [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons “Akaba!” This name, uttered by Peter O’Toole as a sleepless T. E. Lawrence, rings out as a revelation, the password to a quandary that only he can see.  In the fit of inspiration, he prevails […]

Previously: Introduction, Book I, Book II  My precioussss paperback.  Fun fact: the cover art has seven layers of hills.  In the previous part, T. E. Lawrence acquiesced to his general’s request and returned to the field, where he and Feisal took the port city of Wejh, a key victory on the western side of Arabia.  […]